A woman is calling for mandatory background checks on dating sites after her sister was murdered in a suspected suicide attempt by a man she met online.
Michaela-Anne Lingard Hanson, 39, was found dead while her sister Jennifer Lingard, 40, was on vacation in 2022, leaving her alone with her two young children in the same house. “I'm starting to feel sad now,” he said.
Michaela believes Jennifer was killed by her boyfriend Samijo Dow, 33, whom she met through a dating site.
The couple had taken Jennifer's two young sons, Liam, now 12, and Kellen, now 7, to the family's vacation home in Lovell, Maine, USA.
Jennifer was found “beaten and strangled” in a closed room in the cabin by police who arrived for a welfare check.
The next day, Daou was found dead of a drug overdose 300 miles away in his home in Rhode Island, with Jennifer's car parked outside and Jennifer's cell phone in his possession. .
Unknown to Jennifer and her family, Daou had a criminal history that included possession and distribution of child pornography and assault.
Michaela, who is now the legal guardian of her nephews and has a 3-year-old son, Travis, says she has physical and mental health issues from the trauma of her sister's violent murder.
The victim's family is now calling on dating sites to conduct background checks and urging people to “do their own research” before engaging in a relationship with someone they met online.
Michaela, from the East Coast of Massachusetts, said she has been unable to work since the murder of her sister.
“If anything, it's more difficult now.
“It feels like I’m circling down a drain.
“Other people's lives go on, but I don't know how to go on.
“I feel so alone and there are no resources available to help me.
“I feel so hurt and my throat feels constricted all the time.
“I have to work hard for my players. Without them, I wouldn't be here.”
Michaela “never liked” Daou after making a poor first impression when they met in June 2021.
Just a few months later, on February 24, 2022, Michaela woke up in the middle of the night to find police at her door.
They delivered the tragic news that her sister had been found dead in the family cabin.
Jennifer's official cause of death was reported to be asphyxiation due to manual strangulation.
This cabin is also where Michaela and Jennifer's father, Reginald David Lingard, tragically committed suicide in July 2010.
“I lost my father and sister in the same cabin,” Michaela said.
“There are no more cabins, just say that.
“There was bad energy there, it was a bad place.”
Michaela is currently caring for her nephews, Kellen and Liam, and says they are “doing well” despite everything they've been through.
Michaela gave birth to son Travis, now 3, just four months before her sister was murdered.
Michaela says she feels the first few months she spent with her son were “stolen” from her.
She explained: “I have been very busy with her estate and trying to deal with everything as well as taking care of her son and taking care of everything.
“I had a newborn, but I don't remember his life.
“I feel so guilty when I look at my son.”
In the wake of her sister's murder, Michaela developed severe physical and mental health problems.
She has been diagnosed with pneumonia three times and often has difficulty speaking and writing due to her anxiety and PTSD.
Michaela said: “Because of the trauma, my immune system is weakened.
“I'm always sick.
“I used to be articulate, but now I feel confused and stupid.
“I often can't find the words to finish a sentence.”
Jennifer's mother, Shelley Lingard, said her daughter lived in constant fear and was “forever changed” after her daughter's murder.
The 67-year-old said:
“I am forever changed in ways I never expected.
“I am angry that her killer got away so easily with an overdose without facing the consequences of his actions.
“I'm angry that our family was robbed of a future with her.”
As the Lingard family continues to come to terms with Jennifer's murder nearly three years later, their priorities remain the health of their two sons and raising awareness about the dangers of online dating.
Michaela said: “I always tell the boys about Jenny.
“They call me 'mom' now. It's not that they've forgotten about Jenny. They just know that they could have more than one mother. is.
“We are very honest with our boys and answer all the questions they ask us as they grow.
“Samijo should never have been walking down the street.
“He is a violent felon who should never have been allowed to set up a profile on a dating site.”
